Chain pump and the like



J. C, LAFOREST. CHAIN PUMP AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED Dsc. e. 1921.

Y I437898 Patented Deo. 5, 1922.

Patented bien. 5, i922.

Turns Caznauxnaronns'r, or. 'ririnoiiaum Louisiana.

CHAIN'PUMP AND T-I LIKE.

Application filed December` 6, i921. Serial lilo. 520,233.

To @ZZ Lo/1,0m it may concern Be it known that l, JULES CaznauxA LA- roniisr, a .citizen of the United l.States of America; and resident of yThibodauxa parish of La Fourche, Louisiana', have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Chain Pumpsand the like, of

` which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to*4 certain im rovements in endless water elevators; and t eobjects andnature ofthe invention will be understood by'those skilledin the art in the f lightof the following explanationsof the j accompanying drawings `illustra-ting what I now believe to be the preferred mechanical expression or embodiment ofiny invention from among forms7 constructions and' 1 arrangements within the spirit and scope thereof.

Endless water. elevators, such assoec'alled chain pumps, are often employed to a. greater or less extentifor drainageV and other pur-V poses ,in lifting waterfrom lower to a higher elevation where 'it isfnecessary for t sprocket vvnear :the bottom vofthe tbody. of

water so that one verticalplyof the chain is constantly descending through Ia more'for lessgreat depth of water whilefthe other vertical ply is ascending and lifting water through a vertical trough or pipe to the discharge for the water, elevated. This ypipe extendsfrom said discharge above themaxi- 'mum water vlevel `down throughthe water and is open at its lower end usually near they bottom, to form thepumpfinlet, through whiclithe buckets pass 'inwardly in succession. .Morefor less power isvconsumed yin driving the bucketsthrough the water on' their return passage v'from the driving sprocket to the pump Spipe inletlwhere' the buckets start to ascend.

Ilt is an object of my inventionto so arrange and construct the pump features'as Vto reduce lto the minimum the power'required to drive the buckets on their down or return duced scale.

movement through thewater; and a further object ofthe invention is to so arrange the Y pump pipe as to provide its water inlet along the path of movement of the buckets on their ldown or return passage. With these and other objects in yview,iny invention consists incertain novel features iniconstruction and in combinationsl and arrangements as more fully and particularly explained and specified hereinafter. l y

Referring to the accompanying drawings: F lis a vertical section of a pump einbodying ,my invention, the illustration being while lmore or less diagrammatical. f f

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on' the line '2442, F ig. 1, the structure being partially brokenv away and illustrated on an enlarged Fig is a detail perspective view on a re- In the diagramillustrated, an endless flexible conve-yer or elevator;` u is provided made up of uniformly-spaced buckets l, of any suitable' form ,a`nd construction joined together by any suitable means to forman endlessA series, asby flexible connections 2.

These connections canv be composedof one or more parallel endlessleiigths-of sprocket chain or other suitable connections to carry and 'supporttliebuckets which are included 1in or otherwise secured to tvhejendlessconnection7V in anysuitable'manner. j

F or convenience in description', this endf less krelevator or'tonnection that includes the buckets. is hereink referred to as achain,

using this term chain in a broad generic sense to cover/and inclu'deany suitablerk flexible gconnection Vas well as what is strictly a chain.

The endless'coin/eyer,v the chaim is supported by anddrivenfrom a rotary driling membeigsuch as sprocketl 3,' arranged a distance above the water level and ycarried by any suitable/supports, not shown. v This ymember l3 is provided 4with any suitable power or manually actuated driving ine-ans, although the power isusually derivedfroin a suitable motor, not shown, applied to the member ythrough drivingk'pulley 3a or the equivalent thereof. `The lower bight of the l chain passes under and fin lmesh with an y idler rotary drum or sprocket 4, carried by any suitable supports. not' shown. and ar- 'ranged, usually near the bottom ofthe body of water in which the pump operates.

The chain hangs vertically from the upper to the lower sprocket to form a vertical descending ply and a vertical ascending ply.

A stationary pump pipe or casing (usually termed a trough) is supported by any suitable means (not shown) in the body of water with its inlet near the bottom thereof, and one end 6 of this casing extends vertically kto a suitable elevation above the high water level and there has lateral opening to water discharge 7; The endless chain travels longitudinally within this casing which in cross sectional formation approximates the form and outline dimensions of each bucket (the buckets being all vapproximately siniilar) so that each bucket will propel a body of water forwardly in the casing and lift the same to the discharge, broadly according to well known chain pump practice. According to generally followed chain pump practice the casing receives only a portion of the length of the vertical ascending ply of the chain, and is vertical throughout its length and open at its `lower end where the ascending buckets enter.

Such chain pump construction as com-.

nionly employed, requires the submerged buckets, not in the comparatively short vertical casing, to waste force and consume power in traveling' down, laterally and upwardly through the water until entering the lower end of the casing to perform water lifting work. e

According to my present invention, I extend the approximately-closed water confining casing 6 of the pumppdown to and laterally under the idler drum and upwardly at the opposite side thereof to conform to the path traveled by the chain i buckets in moving down to and under said idler and upwardly to the waterdischarge,

'and so construct saidl pump casing ythat it receives the-water to be elevated at its portion through which the buckets descend.

The lower part S of the casing in thus J-shaped and vapproximately concentric with the axis of the idler drum, which drum fits down in the U between the vertical lengths of the casing and approximately closes the otherwise open top of the U ,where the top wall thereof isrenioved to permit the chain to mesh with the drum or sprocket. The drum embodies a cylindrical 'wallor hub 4E to form the top wall of the U portion of the casing and having approximately a ruiming Et with the edges of said casing.

The vertical length 9 ofthe pump casing` that receives the descending buckets and that provides t-he pump inlet is of any suitable length in upward continuation of the curvedU portion 8 of the casing, although 4 I prefer to extend the vertical inlet portion 9 to a point above the maximum water level. This inlet portion 9 of the casing is formed with submerged downwardly inclined water inlets through which the water flows downwardly into the casing to enter the casing approximately in the direction of movement of the buckets descending in said inlet portion of the casing to thereby aid in reducing the power required to drive the buckets and consequently the loadon the chain as an entirety.

In the particular example illustrated, I show the submerged part of the inlet portion of the casing. provided' approximately throughout its length with longitudinal series of spaced downwardly and inwardly7 inclined inlet slots, passages or openings ll extending through its opposite side walls. rthese inlet passages are so formed and arranged that the buckets will sweep downwardly in the casing past the lower ends of the passages through. which the passages discharge into the casing, and the water will lbe drawn into the casing through said passages in the form of downwardly owing columns or bodies that will exert more or less downward force or pressure on the descending buckets.

kThe buckets successively pass from the inlet portion of the casing into the closed U .bend and therefrom to and vertically in the vertical water discharge leg of the casing, and force successive bodies of water from said inlet portion and thereby cause constant downward flow into said portion through said inclined inlet passages.

It is evident that various changes, modi ycations and variations might be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and hence I do not wish to liniitinyself to the exact disclosures hereof.

What I claim is; l n l. A so-called chain pump having a driven endless connection and series of buckets, and a pump casing in which said buckets travel longitudinally to lift water to the pump discharge from said casing, said casing being continuous from a point above the water level where the buckets descend to the pump discharge where the buckets ascend, the submerged portion of the casing that receives the descendingv buckets being provided with water inlets.

2. A water elevator comprising an endless traveling flexible connection provided with an endless series of buckets and a relatively fixed pumpcasing extendingyintothe water to be elevated and enclosing the submerged portion of said connection and its buckets, said casing embodying a vertical water inlet portion in which the buckets descend and a vertical water discharge portion in which the `buckets ascend, the casing being continuous between said vertical portions at the lower end of the elevator.

3. A water elevator comprising an endless series `of water lifting buckets, means to drive said buckets successively in a circuit to descend along a vertical path in the water to be elevated and laterally therefrom to ascend in a vertical path to the elevated w ater discharge, and a pump casing for said buckets and conforming to said paths, said casing providing means to cause the Water to enter the casing in the direction of movement of the buckets.

4. A Water elevator substantially as described by claim 3, wherein the Water inlet l0 portion of the casing is provided With a the casino rovides numerous Water inlet 15 b u v c passages arranged longitudinally of said portion and formed and constructed to discharge numerous streams of Water downwardly in said portion of the casing.

JULES CAZEAUX LAFOREST. 

